{"id":378584,"date":"2025-12-29T17:01:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T17:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378584\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T17:01:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T17:01:23","slug":"the-formula-1-cars-of-2025-ranked-from-slowest-to-fastest-%c2%b7-racefans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/378584\/","title":{"rendered":"The Formula 1 cars of 2025 ranked from slowest to fastest \u00b7 RaceFans"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s little doubt which team had the fastest car in 2025, but how close was each of their rivals?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our annual ranking of which team had the fastest car based on the quickest lap time set over every session in every race weekend last year.<\/p>\n

10. Alpine<\/p>\n

1.36% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/a>Bahrain was one of few races where Alpine was competitive<\/p>\n

For proof of how close the field was in 2025, look no further than Alpine. The slowest car last year was 1.9% off the pace on average; this year Alpine were only 1.36% away yet came a distant last in the world championship.<\/p>\n

The team made it clear from the outset they had prioritised development for 2026, when they will switch to customer Mercedes power units, after Renault abandoned its F1 engine programme. They paid heavily for the decision late in the year, when they were often slower than they had been 12 months earlier. To justify their gamble they will need to see an immediate transformation in their performance next year. <\/p>\n

9. Sauber<\/p>\n

1.34% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/a>Sauber got on terms with the midfielders over the season<\/p>\n

Having taken points just once over the opening eight rounds, Sauber produced a mid-season upgrade which made the C45 a more predictable car for its drivers, and transformed their performance. Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> capitalised on a damp race at Silverstone to take a shock podium finish.<\/p>\n

Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a> chipped in several points finishes too. But in the closely-fought midfield, the days when both made forays into the top 10 were rare.<\/p>\n

8. Haas<\/p>\n

1.33% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/a>Haas matched the best finish of their 10-year history<\/p>\n

Haas were sixth-fastest on average in 2024 and were almost as competitive again in terms of raw performance this year. But as the field tightened up that left them eighth on average as well as in the points. On their best days the VF-25 looked potent \u2013 such as when Esteban Ocon<\/a> finished fifth on his second appearance for the team or Oliver Bearman<\/a> out-ran Oscar Piastri for a fine fourth place in the Mexican Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

7. Aston Martin<\/p>\n

1.1% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Fernando<\/a>Alonso was frustrated by his early-season points drought<\/p>\n

A difficult start to the season left Aston Martin perilously close to the bottom of the points table at one point, while it took Fernando Alonso<\/a> until round nine to score. Although they made some progress with their AMR25 its straight-line performance remained a weakness, though the two-times champion\u2019s regular points-scoring over the second half of the year delivered a seventh place in the standings which matched the car\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n

6. Williams<\/p>\n

0.95% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/a>Sainz achieved a remarkable second on the grid in Baku<\/p>\n

Most teams\u2019 championship positions match their places in this ranking. One exception was Williams, who had the sixth-fastest car but took fifth in the standings, their best finish in 10 years.<\/p>\n

5. Racing Bulls<\/p>\n

0.93% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Yuki<\/a>Racing Bulls had the fifth-fastest car but ended the year sixth<\/p>\n

Would Racing Bulls have beaten Williams had they kept the same driver line-up all season? The experienced Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> looked much more comfortable in this car than he did in Red Bull\u2019s RB21. Liam Lawson took several races to play himself in following his demotion.<\/p>\n

4. Ferrari<\/p>\n

0.56% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/a>Ferrari\u2019s pace ebbed away following their double disqualification in Shanghai<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> must have gone into the off-season 12 months ago eager to get his hands on the car which had just finished a close second in the constructors\u2019 championship to McLaren. But Ferrari\u2019s revisions to its chassis during the off-season backfired and the team decided early in the season it was better off concentrating on the coming regulations change for 2026.<\/p>\n

The result was the team\u2019s first win-less year since 2021 and a depressing start to life at Ferrari for Hamilton, who went a full season without finishing on the podium for the first time in his career \u2013 aside from his sprint race victory in Shanghai, a false dawn on his second weekend at his new team.<\/p>\n

3. Mercedes<\/p>\n

0.45% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>Mercedes were unexpectedly competitive in Singapore<\/p>\n

Although they moved back up to second place in the constructors\u2019 championship (arguably one place higher than the car deserved based on this ranking) there was clear potential for Mercedes\u2019 season to be much better than it was. They began the year well but went down the wrong path with a suspension upgrade which didn\u2019t deliver for either driver and was only dropped after several races of underperformance.<\/p>\n

George Russell<\/a> conjured up fine wins in Montreal and Singapore \u2013 the latter upending the team\u2019s expectation that the car would thrive in cooler conditions. But even accounting for newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonelli finding his feet, Mercedes could have secured second in the standings sooner against Red Bull.<\/p>\n

2. Red Bull<\/p>\n

0.33% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/a>Red Bull had a competitive car by the end of the season \u2013 but only in one driver\u2019s hands<\/p>\n

Over the course of the current regulations Red Bull have found themselves in a position where \u2013 whether by design or accident \u2013 they have a competitive car but one that only Max Verstappen<\/a> can drive. Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda couldn\u2019t produce anything like the kind of lap times their team mate could.<\/p>\n

But Verstappen\u2019s knack for extracting the very best over a flying lap in qualifying ensured his RB21 usually started at or near the front, from where he took more wins than any other driver. An exceptional performance which almost delivered an unlikely championship triumph.<\/p>\n

1. McLaren<\/p>\n

0.06% slower than the fastest car on average<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/a>McLaren were the final champions of the \u2018ground effect\u2019 regulation era \u2013 but Red Bull won the last three races<\/p>\n

In 2024 McLaren steadily emerged from a competitive field to become the team to beat. In the final year of the current regulations they cemented that position, despite not upgrading their car as frequently as Red Bull did.<\/p>\n

The upshot was one of the earliest constructors\u2019 championship triumphs in F1 history. Only the similar abilities of their two drivers meant the title fight went down to the final round \u2013 otherwise this could easily have been a rerun of 2023. But will such a feat be possible for any engine customer in the first year of the new power unit regulations in 2026?<\/p>\n

Compare the data above to last year\u2019s ranking:<\/p>\n

Formula 1
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